Vampire Academy - DPOV - Chapter 1
by sp24601
Summary: This is the book known around the world, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, told from the point of view of every fan's favorite male character, Dimitri Belikov. For those of you who have read the books, you know and love the story, but for those of you who haven't read them, I encourage you to read the Vampire Academy series first. If you're going to read this, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Vampire Academy; Dimitri Belikov's Point of View

Chapter One

"Ready?" I asked various other guardians using a small headset. I received several confirmations from the others surrounding the two-story house where our 'targets' were supposedly sleeping. I remembered the day I was asked to take this mission. I was doing some light lifting in the empty gym at St. Vladimir's Academy; most of the students, teachers, and guardians were gone, visiting their family and friends during summer break. Alberta Petrov, head of the guardians at the school, strolled in, looking cool and composed, as usual, and holding a manila envelope. Knowing immediately that it was an assignment, I dropped the weights and wiped the sweat from my face with a towel and stood respectively, awaiting her orders.

"Stand down, Belikov," she joked as she came to a stop in front of me. Guardian Petrov was a close friend of mine and frequently teased me about my seriousness. She wasn't much older than me, maybe in her thirties, I'm twenty-four, but the lines in her face from hard years as a guardian made her look older. "I have a job for you. And believe it or not, it might be harder than the last one."

Harder than guarding an elite royal moroi, a race of vampires hidden from the human society that don't kill when they feed, from dangerous strigoi, another secret race of vampires that do kill when they feed and happen to love moroi blood? She now had my interest piqued.

"What is it?" I asked. Not much could be harder than my last assignment, especially when the person you're guarding dies, even if it wasn't on my watch.

She handed me the envelope and I slid out a folder labeled _Dragomir._

I was aware that the Dragomir princess, Vasilisa, the last dragomir alive, had run away from the academy two years ago with her best friend and future guardian, Rosemarie Hathaway. How they'd pulled it off, no one knew. Also how they'd managed to stay under the radar was a mystery. Well, maybe they haven't slipped under the radar this time.

"Have you found them?" I asked. This particular case almost fascinated me. I'd always been good with intuition and solving mysteries, but the fact that two fifteen year old girls managed to slip off a campus guarded by dozens of trained killers and magical wards had stumped me. No one even knew why they'd left either, though some people had their ideas, such as maybe one of them was pregnant, or Rosemarie was trying to escape punishment for the stunt she pulled right before she'd left. Rumor had it she'd destroyed a moroi's dorm room for bringing a feeder, humans willing to give their blood for the high vampire bites brought them, to a party.

I opened the folder to the face of a sweet-looking young moroi girl with platinum blonde hair, jade green eyes, and sharp angular features. _Vasilisa Dragomir,_ it read next to the photo. In the Background summary it stated that her family had been killed in an accident that both Vasilisa and Rosemarie were in. The reports from that night stated that Vasilisa was the only one that should have survived but Rosemarie also escaped miraculously with scrapes and bruises being the worst of her injuries.

"We believe we have. I'd like for you and eleven others to retrieve them and bring them to the academy," she said. It took a few moments for her words to sink in. _And believe it or not, it might be harder than the last one. _

"Wait, you're sending twelve guardians after two teenage girls? Royalty notwithstanding. That's more than the queen herself travels with. Can they really be that much trouble?" I asked.

"You obviously don't know Rose Hathaway," she replied. "We've failed to locate these girls for two years. I don't know how they've pulled it off all this time, but my money's on Hathaway. Her grades might not show it, but she was an exceptionally bright novice."

I flipped to the next page and my breath caught. The girl staring back at me was easily the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. Her skin was the color of the inside of an almond, her face surrounded by lustrous waves of brown hair so dark it almost seemed black. She stared up at me with piercing chocolate brown eyes that seemed to gaze into my very soul. She was very curvy for a dhampir, half vampire, half humans whose senses were better than a humans but speed and strength better than that of a moroi. Humans and moroi no longer fraternized; not only were relationships between the two frowned upon; they often disgusted the moroi society. Moroi and dhampir relationships are also frowned upon, but mandatory, seeing as how dhampirs cannot reproduce with one another. Like mules. Oddly enough, moroi and dhampirs produce more dhampirs. Moroi only have flings with dhampirs to keep the race going, and then settle down with another moroi. This particular dhampir could probably have anyone she wanted, seeing how beautiful she was. Dhampirs tended to have short, muscled bodies. Female dhampirs adored moroi bodies, which were usually tall and thin. This girl, however, though being very short, was almost not recognizable as a dhampir. She looked human with her curvy hips and larger than average chest.

_Rosemarie Hathaway. _So this was the infamous troublemaker. I looked up, about to ask Alberta a question, but the look on her face stopped me, her head was cocked to the right and she looked rather… amused at my reaction to the Hathaway girl.

"Yes, rather beautiful, isn't she?" she asked. I looked away sheepishly and hid my embarrassment at being caught admiring a seventeen year old girl, pretending to flip through the pages. "Yes, those looks got her a lot of attention here at school. As well as her mother."

I glanced up at that. "Guardian Hathaway?" I asked. I'd never met her, but she was very well known in the guardian world. She was one of the best.

"Yes. She was very beautiful back in her day," she replied. "That's where Rose gets her looks from. Though she gets those locks from her father."

I wanted to talk more about Rosemarie, but I needed to know more about the assignment.

"How do these two teenage girls call for a dozen highly trained guardians?" I'd asked.

"Well-"

My memory was interrupted by the sound of screaming.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked.

"We don't know. They were just sleeping and-" Whoever it was didn't get to finish, because a second voice started screaming. After a few moments I decided to see what was happening. I took a few steps forward, putting me where I could just see into the room, but it put me in the streetlight. The second voice stopped screaming and I could see the figure of a girl abruptly shoot up and out of the bed closest to the window. She approached the other bed where another girl seemed to be thrashing as well as screaming._ Nightmares? Both of them?_ I was barely close enough to hear with my heightened dhampir senses, but it sounded as though the girl standing were trying to calm the sleeping one down.

"Liss! Liss, wake up," she said. The thrashing girl, which I'd now deemed the princess, slowly calmed down and started moaning too quietly for me to hear. I could see the whites of her eyes as she opened them. She and Rosemarie had a hushed conversation while they rocked together, hugging like sisters. A cat leapt onto the windowsill as Rosemarie switched on the lamp and I could see much better. First thing I noticed was what she waswearing. A tank top. And underwear. I looked away, glad that no one could see me blushing, but kept listening in on them. I had to look up when Rosemarie said something quite strange and confusing to Vasilisa.

"When did we last do a feeding?" she asked. _A feeding? _I thought. Well, of course Vasilisa needed blood, but did they have a feeder in the house with them? How'd they manage that?

"It's been like… more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?" she asked the princess, who shrugged.

"You were busy. I didn't want to…" she began.

"Screw that," Rose said, shifting her position on the bed. "Come on, Let's do this." _Do what?_ I wondered.

"Rose…"

"Come _on,_ it'll make you feel better."

It dawned on me then as she tilted her head and moved the hair back from her neck. She was the feeder. This was unbelievable. Dhampirs feeding moroi was worse than human and moroi relationships. So many female dhampirs threw their lives away because they became addicted to the feel of the endorphins released when bit by a vampire. Most went even further and were bit during intercourse. They were known as blood whores. Vampires needed daily feedings, and if Rose was the feeder every time and they were gone for two years… then she'd been bit over seven hundred times.

She had to be addicted.

I wanted to look away as Vasilisa's fangs neared Rose's neck, but I couldn't. She tried not to show it, but Rose's face betrayed her. She wanted this. Anticipated it. Even craved it.

Definitely addicted. And so young.

Rose cried out at the brief pain of being bit, and at first I was disgusted; then her face changed completely. She looked as though she were in pure ecstasy, the happiest person in the world. I'd never been bitten before and couldn't say but some claimed it was better than sex. And seeing Rose's face, it was very believable. Looking at her like that made my heart beat faster and my breathing quicken. It made me shiver. I couldn't understand what was happening to me, and I finally, and regretfully, tore my eyes away from the intimate scene. I tried to get a hold of myself as I looked around to see if any other guardians had witnessed what I had. Catching my lapse in composure and seeing me look around, one of my comrades, Garrett, spoke to me.

"What? What's happening up there?" he asked. Knowing that whatever we said could be heard by everyone else with a headset, I opted for a shake of my head. I was pretty sure that wasn't the end of it, considering I still wore the shocked and embarrassed look on my face. I was right.

"What? You look pretty bad," Garrett said.

"Nothing!" I snarled into the headpiece. If anyone found out about this, not only will people be disgusted by the princess, but Rosemarie's reputation will change from rebel to blood whore. I couldn't let either of those happen. I felt strangely protective of the two girls. Rose, I figured it was just physical attraction. But I found myself wanting to like Vasilisa, as well. Not in the same way, of course, but I wanted to be closer to her. I wanted to be her friend. Strange.

"You okay?" Vasilisa and Garrett said at the same time. I held up my hand to silence him as I looked to the window again. The princess was wiping her hand across her lips, removing the blood. I shuddered.

"I… Yeah," Rose said, partially incoherent from the endorphins. She lay back on the bed. "I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."

"I'm going to get you something to eat," Vasilisa said as she stood up. After she left, Rose smiled a big, goofy grin. She glanced at the cat sitting on the windowsill.

"You don't know what you're missing," she told it, but its attention was on something else, its jet black fur puffed up, tail twitching. _Me,_ I realized as Rose got up and stumbled to the open window. Great, now every guardian on this side of the house could see her in her underwear. The cat scooted away from her, animals aren't partial to dhampirs, and an unreasonably warm breeze for Portland fall ruffled her hair as she leaned out. She scanned the yard and I prayed the flickering streetlight and her buzz prevented her from seeing me.

Too late.

She jerked back when she spotted me. Since she'd already seen me, I stepped back into the shadows. Garrett stepped up beside me, covering his mouthpiece to speak privately.

"Well, screwed that one up… What now?" he asked.

I could no longer see well into the room, but I saw her back away.

"Now, we grab them," I replied, not only to him, but all the other guardians waiting as well. "They know were here, so they'll most likely try to run. They won't get very far with Hathaway… the way she is. So we'll cut them off a couple blocks down. All right, head out." Garrett threw me a confused look when I commented on Hathaway, but I shook my head to keep him from asking questions. He nodded and took off.

I heard the front door of the house open and close as I turned. I was glad to see that Rose had thrown on a pair of jeans, but was disappointed when I saw the princess's bare feet. You'd think a guardian would take better care of their charge. I easily ran faster than them and made it to the corner much sooner than they did. They were muttering as they ran and screeched to a halt when I stepped in their path, ten feet from them. I could see Rose studying me as I studied her. She was even more beautiful in reality, even after going through what she has.

The other guardians caught up and circled us. Rose and Vasilisa took in the others and you could plainly see the shock register on their faces. Rose pressed up against the princess, keeping her behind her and away from me.

"Leave her alone," Rose snarled. "Don't touch her."

I was surprised at her viciousness. Why would we want to hurt the last living Dragomir? The last of a royal bloodline? I held my hands out in a calming gesture.

"I'm not going to-" I took a step forward which was apparently the wrong choice. She attacked me, using an offensive move she probably learned years ago. On instinct, my hands slammed into her, propelling her backward toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle. My hand snaked out and caught her arm, keeping her upright. I planned to look her in the face but her bite mark was exposed and it made me realize, she wasn't feeding the princess because she was addicted, but because she would do anything to protect her. She was so young, where did that intense determination come from? As I looked at her neck, I realized some other guardians could see it, too.

"Shit," breathed Garrett, so softly, only those with headsets could hear him.

"Oh, God," someone else said, just as quiet.

"_With Hathaway the way she is_, huh?" Garrett said, recalling my earlier comment.

Rose saw me looking at her neck and she reached up with the hand I wasn't holding. It came away red and slick with blood. She shook her hair forward to cover the wound, embarrassed. My eyes lingered where the bite was a few moments more, then I met her gaze. She glared back defiantly and jerked her arm out of my grasp. I let her go. She backed towards Vasilisa again, bracing herself for another attack. But the princess caught her hand and said,"Rose, don't."

Rose ignored her at first, but as Vasilisa stared intently at her, she sagged in defeat. _What convinced her? The princess only said two words. Or could it be…? _I stepped forward, dismissing the idea. I turned my attention to the princess and bowed to her.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov," I told her. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."


	2. Chapter 2

Vampire Academy – Dimitri Belikov's point of view

Chapter two

One look at the two of them whispering furiously, and I ordered them apart.

"Don't let them talk to each other. Five minutes together and they'll come up with an escape plan," I said. Rosemarie glared at me and stomped off down the aisle. Their escape routes were blocked off for now, seeing as we were flying over the Rocky Mountains. No, they were not getting away from me.

The princess looked very afraid, which I had no idea why, and Rose looked enraged. Though there was something else there. Worry? Anxiety? I sat down next to Vasilisa as she gripped a water bottle very tightly. I leaned down to get my own water and felt eyes on me, but when I turned, the princess was lost in thought, her eyes unfocused.

Near the end of the flight, I got up and dismissed the guardian watching Hathaway. I sat down beside her and studied her for several moments. She was beautiful. Her long brown hair covered the healing bite mark, thankfully. She looked away from me, deliberately staring out into the black night.

"Were you really going to attack all of us?" I asked. She ignored me but I pressed on. "Doing that… protecting her like that- it was very brave. Stupid, but still brave. Why did you even try it?" I asked, trying to get some answers. She brushed her hair out of her face, looking me in the eyes.

"Because I'm her guardian," she snapped, and returned to the window. I could tell she was being truthful, but there was something else there. Something that told me she had a bond like no other with the princess, that she'd be willing to do anything to protect her. My earlier theory became more and more possible. After a moment of thought, I got up and returned to the front with Vasilisa.

When we landed, we transported Hathaway and the princess to the academy only stopping at the gate to verify who we were. After a minute, we passed through the wards and drove to the school. It was sunset and the students would just be starting the school day. We ran on a nocturnal schedule because moroi got very weak in sunlight. Strigoi burned in it. We drove past the moroi and dhampir dorms, heading towards the quad. I was surprised when Rose didn't immediately try to run when I opened the SUV doors, considering how much she obviously wanted to be away from me. For some reason, that bugged me. As we walked into the main part of the upper school, Rose jogged up to me and the princess.

"Hey, Comrade," she addressed me. I didn't stop, didn't even spare a glance.

"You want to talk now?" I asked a bit sardonically. She didn't miss a beat.

"Are you taking us to Kirova?"

"_Headmistress _Kirova," I corrected. The princess shot her a look that said _don't start problems._

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit-" She broke off suddenly as we walked through the doors to the commons and sighed. I felt the edges of my mouth curl up. They hadn't expected me to lead them right through the Academy's equivalent to a cafeteria.

And it was breakfast time.

Novice guardians and moroi students sat together gossiping. But all noise dropped off as soon as someone realized just who it was that walked through the door. The only sound audible was our footsteps. I looked back to see the princess staring straight ahead, her chin high; a true royal. On the other hand, there was Rose. She returned the open-mouthed, shocked faces with a lazy grin, though I could see she was scanning the room. So, she hadn't forgotten everything on her little 'vacation'. For some reason, her reaction to her classmates made me grin outright. I quickly composed myself, hoping no one saw. We entered Headmistress Kirova's office, and most of the guardians exited, only Alberta and I were left standing in the shadows. Ms. Kirova was about to speak, no doubt ready to unleash all hell on Rose, but before she could utter a word, Vasilisa's uncle, though they were not related, Prince Victor Dashkov, spoke.

"Vasilisa," he breathed, struggling out of his corner chair. The princess sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body.

"Uncle," she whispered, sounding on the verge of tears.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa," he said as he patted her back gently. "And you, too, Rose," he added. I was surprised. From what I'd heard, not many adults were too fond of her. She nodded back, trying and failing to hide her shock at Victor's condition. He had an incurable disease that would kill him young. It was a pity; he was next in line for the throne.

Ms. Kirova gave them a few moments, and then turned to lecture the girls. Rose didn't look like she was paying attention at all until the topic of the conversation was Rose, herself.

"You, Miss Hathaway," she began, "broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a moroi. It is a great trust. A trust you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; you nearly enabled them to do it."

"Rose didn't kidnap me," the princess objected. Was Vasilisa willing to risk everything for Rose as well? _They do…_ I thought. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." Ms. Kirova tsked them both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back.

"Ms. Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the whole plan for all I know, but it was still her responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd been doing her duty, she would have notified someone. If she had done her duty, she would have kept you safe."

"I did do my duty!" Rose shouted as she jumped from her chair. Alberta and I both flinched, ready to hold Rose back if need be. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of _you-_" she motioned around the room "-could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to. You certainly weren't going to." I didn't know how the princess was in danger before she left, but knowing what they shared; Rose probably felt the need to protect her from whatever the danger was. If protecting her required her to take the princess away, then so be it.

Kirova stared at Rose and said, "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" she inquired. I waited, also anticipating Rose's answer. She bit her lip and kept silent. "I see. Well then. By my estimation, the only reason you left- aside from the novelty of it, no doubt- was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not-" Rose began, but Kirova interrupted her.

"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a moroi, the princess must continue on here at the academy, but we have no such obligations with you. You'll be sent away as soon as possible."

I was as shocked as Rose was. Send her away? With the gift they have? _They must not know…_ I realized with even more shock.

"I… what?" stammered Rose. The princess shot up beside her.

"You can't do that! She's my guardian!" she exclaimed. Rose's face was getting colder and harder by the second.

"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice," Ms. Kirova stated.

"But my parents-"

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."

Rose spoke then, her voice cold with hatred.

"Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my father?" The next time she spoke, I couldn't recognize her voice. "Or maybe you'll send me off to be a blood whore? Try that and we'll be gone by the end of the day."

Okay, that kind of stung, considering I was raised in a dhampir commune.

"Miss Hathaway!" she hissed. "You are out of line!"

Now was the time to play my cards if I wanted Rose to stay. We couldn't waste their gift, as well as the potential of a young female novice. And for some other reason I couldn't quite understand, I just didn't want Rose to leave. I steeled myself, ready for the two girls to hate me for exposing their secret, and spoke.

"They have a bond," I explained, and was rewarded with astonished looks from everyone but the girls. Even Alberta looked a little shaken up. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" Rose did not answer, just averted her eyes. I felt myself smirk at having been right.

"No… That's impossible. It hasn't happened in centuries," retorted Ms. Kirova.

"It's obious," I said. "I suspected it as soon as I started watching them." Okay, it required a small lie on my part, but it was a small price to pay.

"That is a gift," murmered Prince Victor. "A rare and wonderful thing." I was starting to like him more and more, but something about him was off. He didn't seem as surprised as the others to hear my proclamation. But before I could give it much thought, something else occurred to me.

"The best guardians always had that bond," I said, voicing my thoughts. "In the stories," I added. As a result, Kirova's face twisted with outrage.

"Stories that are centuries old!" she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the academy after everything she's done?" she asked, genuinely shocked.

"She may be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential-" I began. Apparently it wasn't the right thing to say, and Rose didn't realize that I was helping her, because she interrupted me, very angry.

"Wild and disrespectful?" she bellowed. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?" I ignored the jab as Kirova explained my being here.

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian. Her _sanctioned_ guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?" Rose exclaimed. I ignored this insult as well, seeing as how most dhampirs were of Russian or Romanian descent. _Lissa?_ I was guessing that this was the princess's Americanized nickname. Apparently it had stuck, and if it stuck, Vasilisa like it, right? _Should I start calling her that? _i wondered as Ms. Kirova threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You see?" Kirova exclaimed. "Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline," I replied smoothly. "Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."

"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."

"No! I won't!" argued Rose. We ignored her.

"Then give her extra training sessions," I suggested.

"Who's going to put in extra time? You?" Not what I had planned.

"Well, that's not what I-"

"Yes, that's what I thought," she said, crossing her arms. I looked at the girls, and their eyes were practically begging me to comply. I looked at Rose, and for some reason, could not refuse her pleading brown eyes.

"Yes," I answered after a long moment. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones." I was going to regret this.

"And then what? She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her. Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular." Rose shuddered at my insinuation. Females were leaving to raise their children or mostly because they became addicted to vampire bites.

"I'm inclined," Victor suddenly said, "to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent." Kirova considered this, staring out her tinted window. When she turned around, the princess was there to meet her eyes.

"Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay," she said, her voice strangely soothing. _Compulsion! _I realized with a jolt. Compulsion is a moroi's ability to force their will upon a human. I kept my face impassive, hiding my shock. Did no one else see this? How can she use compulsion on another moroi? Are the princess's powers really that strong? Then, it hit me. This is how they got away with everything in the human world. I looked to Rose for confirmation. She looked worried, and that was all I needed.

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be," Kirova said. She turned to Rose. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have- before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent… away." Rose laughed harshly when Ms. Kirova was done.

"Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" she asked. She nodded toward the princess. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for damaging school property. You have a lot to make up for. You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it." I caught Rose's eye and tried to convey that she should take the deal. She hurriedly glanced away to the floor.

"Fine. I accept"


End file.
